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Happy Monday! Last week was beyond busy- I had plans every night, and barely had time to be at my apartment, let alone blog! I got to spend a lot of time with friends, both new and old, which was awesome, but by the time the weekend rolled around, I was absolutely exhausted. I slept from 9:30 Friday night until 11:15 Saturday morning, and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Part of the reason I was so exhausted was because I went to the Outcry concert in downtown Houston on Thursday night! It was an awesome night of worship with Kari Jobe, Bethel, the Passion band, Hillsong, and a few more bands that I can’t really remember. I went with some of the girls who were in my Bible study back in College Station. We had been planning this since March or April, and I was excited not only for the concert, but to see them as well! They’re some of my besties, and I’ve missed them a lot these past couple of months! We had a great time catching up and worshiping together, and we even got to see our Bible study leaders!

Hillsong is one of my favorite worship bands, and it was beyond awesome to see them in real life! I know most of their older songs, but they also sang a few of their new songs that I hadn’t heard before. One song in particular caught my attention. It was called Touch the Sky and I just absolutely loved it. It talks about the abundant life we have when we choose to give our lives over to Jesus completely.

I will be completely honest: I have a hard time turning to God when I’m wanting to touch the sky, or accomplish things. I like to think that Kristen can do everything all by herself. But the truth is that I absolutely cannot. These words made me realize that the only way I will be able to reach heights is by being humble and asking God to guide me, direct me, and teach me, and actually listen to Him. And even if I do not accomplish my goals, I am able to touch the sky simply by being able to talk to, praise, and serve Jesus who loves me so much and chose me to be His.

I know this was a little different from the usual, but I definitely felt like this was something I needed to share. Thanks for reading!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a good weekend! I got to see my family this weekend, which was wonderful. My sister and her husband came to see me on Saturday, and we went to lunch and explored my new neighborhood a bit! Then on Sunday, I got to spend some time with my parents, and they got to see my apartment without boxes all over the floor. It was a great weekend, and I’m excited to go back for another week at work!

Speaking of my job, I am really enjoying it. I definitely still have a lot to learn, but I’m starting to get used to everything and not be so overwhelmed. I think it’s going to be a great way for me to learn about the administration side of healthcare, which is the direction I want my career to head in.

While I was looking for a job, I started freaking out once January rolled around, and started considering taking anything rather than what I really wanted. But at the same time, I didn’t want to take a job doing something I didn’t want to do, or end up living somewhere I didn’t want to be. I had quite a few “requirements” for what I wanted out of a job: something in healthcare, preferably pediatrics, something in the Houston area, and something that would give me the opportunity to help other people. But most importantly to me was to be in Houston. I have a lot of friends here, I love the city, and I think it’s a good place for me to be at this point in my life. I started applying for jobs at hospitals in the Medical Center, which is home to some of the best hospitals in the world. It wasn’t long after I received my first rejection letter from one of these hospitals that I realized I wasn’t going to go straight to the top fresh out of college. So I started to re-think my career goals. I applied to lots of PR jobs, social media specialist positions, and even positions in the fashion industry. But something kept pulling me back to the healthcare field, even though I had convinced myself that it probably wasn’t going to happen. There are a few really great hospitals in Tyler, where I’m from, and they actually had quite a few positions that I would have liked and was qualified for. But I knew I didn’t want to go back to Tyler, and just as I felt really strongly about working in the healthcare field, I felt like Houston was the place for me. I knew I was being really picky, but I kind of didn’t care.

I found a lot of jobs that I was “qualified” for. I found a lot of jobs that I may have been pretty good at. I found a lot of jobs in Tyler, Dallas, College Station, and places inbetween that sounded like something I would want to do. But I couldn’t do it- I was dead set on Houston. In fact, I only applied to two jobs that weren’t in Houston, one in Austin and one in College Station. I don’t think my parents know this, but I didn’t apply to a single job in Tyler. I started on a few applications, but I never finished them. Part of me was terrified that I was putting myself in an impossibly small box, but the other part of me was terrified to settle for something I didn’t want. So I kept applying, but only for jobs I thought I would love, in places I thought I would enjoy, constantly praying that the Lord would work things out for me.

The end of April, I received a job offer from a company in College Station. It was something I think I really would have enjoyed, but (along with a few other factors), I knew that after graduation, it was time for me to move on from Aggieland, as much as I loved it. As much as it scared me, I knew that it wasn’t the job for me and I needed to turn it down. I called them and declined the offer on a Wednesday afternoon, came to terms with the fact that I was going home to Tyler after graduation by Thursday morning, and received an offer for my job in Houston by lunch on Friday. Now, I know that this doesn’t happen for everyone. And honestly, I wasn’t really sure it was going to happen for me until it actually did. But, with lots of faith in myself and, what I was capable of, a refusal to settle, and most importantly, lots of prayer and a belief that God would provide exactly what I needed, I was pleasantly surprised.

Aside from my job search, there were quite a few things I decided not to settle on this year. Not settling for boys I knew were bad news. Not settling for three laps when I knew I could run four. Not settling for surface-level friendships with people I met this year when I knew I would be gone in a few months. Not settling for taking the easy way to being accepted and doing what was right instead. Not settling for missing out on anything my senior year even though I didn’t have time for it. And you know what? All of that was really hard. But I know that it helped me learn not to accept anything I didn’t want, in every area of my life. I guess the moral of the story is to trust God, trust your gut, and when you feel deep down inside that something isn’t right for you, don’t do it. You may have to wait a while for something else to come along, but it will definitely be worth it.

Sorry for the abrupt end of posts last week! I really had every intention of keeping up the pace, and I even had posts planned for the rest of the week, but I had multiple meltdowns about school and I got really busy trying to figure out my new schedule, so unfortunately things did not go as planned. But when do they ever. I wish I could promise to keep posting regularly, but sometimes school and life gets in the way unexpectedly!

Last week was my first week back to school, and it was okay- not my favorite first week ever. I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday, but I work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I actually really like that I don’t have to work and go to school on the same days! I’m not super excited about any of my classes, but that’s okay because there’s not very many of them. Also, I dropped a class on Thursday so now I only have two classes on campus, and the other two are online. Which some people would love, but I tend to forget about online classes, so we’ll see how this goes. Other than class, it was really nice to get back into a routine, and I can’t wait until next week when all of my activities start up again!

One thing I’m really horrible at is making important decisions. Actually, I usually know what the right decision is, but I have a really hard time implementing it. I’m always asking myself “but what if?” and second-guessing whether or not what I think is the right choice is actually the right choice. Like I said, I usually know what I should do, but I always have a hard time convincing myself, especially if it’s something that seems really permanent or final. I came across this quote recently, and I think it’s perfect for those times when you’re in a tough spot:

Sometimes we need the wisdom, but most of the time we just need the courage. It doesn’t matter if you know what you should do if you’re still too afraid to do it. Whether it’s dropping a class, changing your major, or ending things with your not-boyfriend, sometimes you just need an extra push to actually do it. That can come from encouragement from your friends and family, through prayer and spending time in God’s word, or it can just hit you like a ton of bricks and you know you literally do not have a choice- it must be done. So the next time you find yourself in a situation where a tough choice is in front of you, I would encourage you to pray not only for wisdom, but for the courage to act on it.

Happy Monday! I’ll be at the dentist this morning having a little work done-wooohooo. I’m actually really okay with it, they’ll be removing the two the silver crowns I’ve had on my teeth since I was about six and replacing them with permanent ones. I’ve been self-conscious about them for a long time- I don’t really think anyone can see them, but I still don’t like them and I’ve always had this irrational fear that they would catch the flash while someone was taking a picture and my face would be a glowing orb. Silly, I know, but I’m really excited to have teeth that aren’t shiny. That being said, I should post tomorrow, but if not, just know that the pain/drugs have gotten the best of me, and I should be back on Wednesday.

I went to lunch with my bestie Kinsey the other day as a last hoorah before we both go back to school, and after we ate we wandered into a new coffee shop downtown. We sipped chai tea lattes and talked about life, because we are #Tylerchic. We talked about school, jobs, friends, boys, her upcoming move to Dallas, why we’ve made some of the decisions we’ve made lately, and how much our perspectives on all of those things have changed in our 3.5 years of college. One thing we kept coming back to is how we’re so glad we haven’t settled for less than what we really want, and that even though it’s hard to have to wait for the best, it’s definitely worth it. This conversation reminded me of a perfect quote I found on Pinterest a while back:

I feel like the saying “don’t settle” can be super cliche, but I also believe that settling for less than what God has for you is the easiest and most common way to really mess things up. I’m not saying you should have unrealistic expectations, but a lot of the time, “good enough” isn’t good enough. Whether it’s not accepting mediocre grades because you know you can work harder, not dating that boy that pays you a lot of attention because you’ve talked to God about it and He said no (um hi SO HARD I KNOW), or not applying for a “good” job because the job description sounds seriously awful, if you feel in your gut like it’s a bad idea, just don’t.Sometimes it’s really hard, because a less-than-stellar option can be easy, and it’s easy to talk yourself into thinking that it will be fine, and you’ll learn to love it, and you’re just ready to get the show on the road.

But it’s like shopping for a pair of boots. You wouldn’t just walk into the store, pick up the first pair that caught your eye and waltz up to the cash register, would you? No. You’ll recognize that this is an investment, and a decision you’re going to have to live with for a while. You have a picture in your mind of what you want- black, quilted boots that you can wear to both work and school, with your sweater dresses and jeans, and preferably not too mom-ish. You may have to go to a few different stores and try on a few different pairs, and you’ll probably get a little frustrated. And you might seriously consider a few sub-par options, But then you’ll decide that this pair looks cheap, this pair is cute but not quilted and that’s what you REALLY wanted, and that this pair isn’t super comfortable. Then, you find them. They’re the perfect heel height, they don’t have too much hardware, and they’re not too trendy, so you know you’ll love them forever. They’re exactly what you had in mind, and you are beside yourself. Every once in a while when you wear them, you’ll think to yourself, “I love these boots. I’m so glad I waited to find the perfect pair”.

That’s why it’s important to not settle. For shoes, for a job, for a boy, or for anything. Because it’s hard to wait, but it’s harder to come across what you really wanted when it’s too late. Don’t be that girl that settles- be that girl that has faith in God’s timing and plans. Abundant life is a promise, but it can’t be rushed.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I woke up feeling sicky on Friday, so the majority of my weekend was spent lounging in my cat onesie and drinking tea. Which, aside from the painful coughing, was a wonderful way to spend three freezing days. However, I’m hoping that today I will be feeling well enough to leave my house, and maybe even go to the gym for the first time in almost three weeks (LOL I’m scared). We’ll see about that.

This is one of my favorite Bible verses, and I recently came across it while reading my Bible the other night, so I thought I would share! (also I did not take this picture, I found it on Pinterest).

Sometimes we don’t get what we want and we don’t really understand why not. And sometimes it’s hard to understand why we have to go through difficult times in life. But, God promises that He will work things together for our benefit, and that we will see His goodness in our lives. This is something that I often have to remind myself of, but I know that He is faithful, and that I will be pleasantly surprised by the path He is leading me down.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend- I sure did! It was the first weekend in a while I haven’t been out of town or had visitors, and while I absolutely love both of those things, down time is always welcome!

I came across this quote on Pinterest last week, and it pretty much stopped me in my tracks and made me take a good, long look at myself, where I’m at in life, and the bad attitude I’ve had about that lately.

I feel like many times as Christians, when we’re not thrilled about the current state of our lives, we tend to look at what’s coming next. We say things like, “It will all work out in the end”, “Someday I will see how God can use this for good in my life”, and “Just be patient. God’s timing is perfect”. None of these things are bad, and they’re all true, but sometimes they don’t provide the encouragement we’re needing. They tell us we just have to “get through” whatever’s happening right now to get to the blessings that God has for us, and don’t tell us what to do right now. Sometimes, the mindset that you’ll have to wait for things to get better makes things even worse. That’s why I love this quote- it tells me that I can have abundant life right now.

But even that can be hard. If you’ll let me be honest for a second, here’s where I’m at in life:I’m I’m a senior in college, about to graduate with a “very versatile” Communication degree. So versatile, in fact, that I have no idea what I want to do. At least once a week, someone asks me what I’m going to do when I graduate, and it makes me want to scream. I have no idea what my life is going to look like eight months from now, and I’m terrified. I love College Station, but I feel like I’m too old for partying and college shenanigans, while at the same time, I’m not ready to be a full-on adult just yet. Both of my best friends live in different cities now, and it’s been super hard without them. I have more activities and commitments than I have time for, and I’m constantly exhausted. I feel like I’m ‘stuck’ at this weird stage, and it’s been really hard to have a good attitude about pretty much anything. Yes, I know that God will work everything out for me in the future, and yes, that gives me a lot of comfort, but I can’t just mope around until He decides to show me His plans- that’s no good for anybody.

That’s what I realized when I came across these wise words. It may be difficult to understand and find joy in my very uncertain state of life right now, but there are so many reasons to love life and live it well. I started to think about the story God’s written for me so far, and it’s pretty awesome. I have seen Him do great things in me and through me, and I know He will continue to do so. I have seen Him use my weaknesses to make Himself known to me and others, and to make me aware of the fact that I’m nowhere near perfect and don’t have to be. And I can see that right now, I am at a scary and uncertain yet very exciting time in my life. I may not know what I want my career to be, but that gives me the opportunity to explore many different options. I may not get to see my close friends as much as I want, but they are the best friends I could ever ask for, and I know that I’m blessed to have them in my life. I may have such a full calendar that I cry at least once a week because I’m overwhelmed (this is a fact, and I should really think about cutting something out), but I have lots of new opportunities to meet new friends and learn new things. Most importantly, however God is showing me that if I am obedient and trust Him, he will be faithful and bless me.

Even though “things aren’t really super fun for me right now,” as I recently told my mother, I am learning to look for the good in every situation, and love the story God is writing for me. If you are in the same boat, I would encourage you to remember that abundant life is something always available to you- sometimes it just requires a little shift in perspective.

Thanks for letting me share a more personal side of myself this week- I hope you didn’t mind! That’s all for meow!

Guess who’s back? Monday. Yay for another week of work, school, or whatever else! I’m looking forward to the end of this week (per usual), because I’m going to visit my friend Ashley in Houston. Yay for shopping and bestie time!

I found this quote a few weeks ago and had to share!

Sometimes I get so caught up in my everyday life and the stresses it brings that I forget how truly blessed I am. I may get tired of my classes, but I have the opportunity to attend one of the best universities in the state. I may not want to wake up for work in the morning, but I have a job. I may be annoyed when I have to cook because I’ve spent all my “eating-out” money for the week, but at least I have food. In addition to all of that, I have a family and friends that love me, my health, and most importantly, a Savior that loves me and died for me. Sometimes a little perspective and a reminder to count your blessings can work wonders!

It’s been forever since I’ve posted- whoops! I’ve had tests during the week, retreats on the weekends, and Spring Break, which didn’t prove as productive for the blog as I had hoped. But I’m back, with some new ideas and inspiration! The first new idea is today’s feature, “Monday Musings”. I’ve had this idea for a while, but I haven’t really gotten around to it until now. My goal for Monday Musings is to post a quote with a short commentary, just to give my readers a little inspiration and encouragement, and to add some variety! Let me know what you think!

I came across this quote on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and I love it so much. It’s applicable to many different things in my life right now: hard finance tests, boys, summer jobs, future plans, etc. I’m a big worrier, so this has reminded me to pray for peace (no matter what) in times when I’m unsure of what’s to come. This week I have a few pending opportunities with jobs and summer plans, so it’s my goal to remember that God’s plan is the best, and to pray for peace no matter my circumstances.

I would like to begin with a disclaimer- In posting this, I am not saying that this is what everyone should do. I am just sharing my story, and how I feel it is beneficial to me and my faith.

Everyone loves a wedding, at least I do. My cousin got married just a couple of weeks ago, and I had the honor of being a bridesmaid.(I’ve decided that I could totally be a professional bridesmaid. I mean, you get a new dress that’s fancier than what you’d normally wear, you get to fix your hair and makeup like you’re actually going to be around people, and help others with their hair and makeup, you get cute monogrammed gifts, you get to eat cake at least three times, and you support your friend/family member on one of the most important days of her life-right up my alley.) From my cousin’s engagement to her wedding, I’ve seen how much actually goes in to planning a wedding, and I’m really seeing it with my sister, who is getting married in February. So I can understand why people use something like Pinterest to gather ideas and keep them all in one place. However, in the past few months, I have been wondering why I, a very single, twenty-one year old girl, feel it is necessary to gather ideas for a wedding that I’m not even guaranteed to have. (I realize that I terrify some girls my age with that statement, myself included, but sometimes you have to be real, and this is one of those times.) After much prayer, consideration, and heated debate with myself, I made the decision to do away with my wedding board (dramatically titled “Someday…”) on Pinterest.

I have a few different reasons for doing this:

1. A far-off wedding should not be my main focus right now. First of all, it’s not like I would just sit for hours pinning wedding ideas. But when I came across something “I might want to keep in mind”, I would save it. But sometimes I would get on kicks where I would pin a mass amount of wedding ideas in one sitting. However, as I have recently been learning, singleness is a special time in the life of a Christian. It is a time to grow in your faith and focus on what God has for you specifically. It’s not a time to be planning a wedding to a boy you haven’t even met yet. I began to realize this as I read “When God Writes Your Love Story” by Eric & Leslie Ludy (which if you haven’t read, YOU NEED TO.). Right now, I’m single because God wants me to work on myself and draw me to Him, and if I’m busy picking out the groom’s cake before I even have a groom, then I can’t fully be molded into who God wants me to be.

2. It’s not about the wedding-it’s about the marriage. This is something that I think is a big problem with girls today. They want to have their perfect day, and they get so caught up in looking and being treated like a princess that they forget about the real purpose of a wedding- to make a lifetime commitment with another person to serve each other and God for the rest of your lives. If you just want to throw a big party, become a committee head in your sorority and plan a brunch for 150 people-it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’m not saying it’s bad to want a nice wedding- I do!- but I’m saying that I think the focus should be more on the meaning of a wedding, rather than the presentation.

3. I don’t know what I’ll want my wedding to be like by the time I actually get married. Right now, everyone is into the Mason jars and burlap, but who knows what’s going to be ‘in’ by the time you actually get engaged? More importantly, I know that who I marry will have an effect on how I want my wedding to be. Planning now is just a waste of time!

4. Sometimes it makes you sad. I’m not the type of girl to sit around and mope because I’m single (and have been forever). I’ve given that area of my life over to God, and am trusting Him with that as I live in this time of singleness (which took a very long time). But that doesn’t mean that I never wish I wasn’t single- it happens sometimes. Often, when I was particularly upset, I would get on Pinterest and end up pinning wedding stuff, which made things worse. In getting rid of my wedding board, I also got rid of the opportunity to dwell on my singleness, and to tell God that I was upset with/didn’t trust His timing.

So there you have it. If you think that this might be a good idea for you, I would definitely encourage you to pray about it and ask God if this is hindering your relationship with Him, or your ability to trust Him and His plans for you.

So, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had time to blog…this semester is proving to be super busy & a little harder than I thought! I haven’t even had time to get on Pinterest, which is pretty much a Class 3 tragedy. But this weekend, I’ve found myself with lots of time on my hands! I don’t have a DIY this time, just a little something I’ve been thinking about lately :).
Since I’ve been going nonstop during the week this semester, I usually just want to do nothing on the weekends. But sometimes I forget to make plans & then I end up with nothing to do except homework, which is super lame. This happened this weekend. Again. So my parents came down tonight & took me to dinner and the grocery store. It was great to see them, even if it was just for a couple of hours. As I was getting ready for dinner, I had some troubles deciding what to wear. I ended up with an overabundance of clothing piled on my bed:

I honestly have no idea why it was so difficult to pick out an outfit. I mean, I was just going to see my parents. Not that they’re not important, it’s just that as long as I’m decent, they typically don’t care what I wear. It was just one of those days where nothing that I put on looked how I wanted, and everything was uncomfortable. I finally just made myself keep something on. Then, when I came back, I had a big fat mess to clean up. It was super fun.
Also, we now have an overabundance of citrus fruits in the 434:

My mom brought me grapefruits from home (they’re my faves), and then I bought some clementines when my parents took me to the grocery store. I’d been wanting some clementines, but I knew I couldn’t eat them all by myself, so I asked my roommate if she’d eat some if I bought them. She will be pleasantly surprised when she returns tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got our work cut out for us, and no reason to not get our daily serving of fruits.
Also, I have an overabundance of tea, which is wierd, because I really don’t like it all that much:

I bought one of the boxes of green tea when I was sicky last semester, and the lemon zinger during the long hard winter. Tonight, my mom bought the other box of green tea to take back home, but she left it in my room. So, I now have 3 boxes of hot tea. I’m probably going to have a tea party soon, because there is no way I will ever drink it all. Even though I had two cups of green tea today… But still. There’s. SO. Much. Tea.
Tonight as I was noticing all these things I possess in bulk, I realized something. I have been blessed with so much. There are so many people who would love to have parents to come take them to dinner, or to have parents at all. There are millions of people who would love to have more than one set of clothes. There are people who would not look at a bag of clementines as a challenge, but as a necessary source of food, and people who would be thrilled to have a cup of tea to keep them warm. I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty, but sometimes it’s good to have some perspective. And I’m talking to myself more than anyone. But, there’s something that we all have in overabundance, no matter who we are, what we’ve done, where we’re living, or what we have. God’s love for us is more than we can ever imagine. Even if you feel lonely, He is always there & loves you more than any human being ever could. God has been showing me lately that when I feel like I’m all by myself, I’m really not, and that his love for me is truly amazing and unlike anything else. I have the best friend anyone could ever ask for with me at all times. He’ll never get mad at me for something I do, he’ll never forget to call me back, he’ll never decide he’s tired of being around me. And the best part is, he loved me, you, and everyone else so much, that he died so we could be in heaven with him for eternity, if we confess with our mouths & believe with our hearts. Wow. That kind of love, my friends, is not only the thing we all possess in overabundance, but the only thing we’ll ever need.
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” -Ephesians 3:17-18.

I know this post is different from what I typically post, but I felt like this was something I needed to share. 🙂 Until next time!

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About Me

I'm Kristen! I'm a Christ-following, Aggie girl with a love for anything monogrammed, tacos, a well put-together outfit, a delicious recipe, mornings with two cups of coffee, and cats. This little blog is my creative outlet, and I'm so happy you're here to share it with me!

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